The book offers a compelling and insightful recounting of the American ambassador's experiences in Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the tense prelude and early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For me, it was an eye-opening narrative. I've always found it perplexing how international dynamics can unravel when leaders become so entrenched in their own perspectives that they lose sight of reality. This story highlights a recurring failure of imagination—an inability to grasp the clear, unvarnished actions and motives of their counterparts on the global stage. 4/5 Stars.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Sunday, February 23, 2025
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (1859)
This gripping, long-form essay is clear, approachable, and relevant in 2025. The concepts are timeless and universal. Our modern politics and rhetorical discussions now among the ruling class elites would benefit enormously from the civics concepts and reasoning in this essay. In particular the balance between the "Tyranny of the Majority" and individual rights in a society are fantastic. Highly recommended, 5/5 Stars.
Labels:
philosophy,
politics
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
If I betray these words by Wendy Dean and Simon Talbot (2023)
This book presents a fascinating and in-depth collection of vignettes that highlight the dedication and idealism of medical professionals. It vividly illustrates the struggles these devoted doctors face against the encroachment of private equity firms and other large corporate entities that destroy the integrity of patient care.
Through these narratives, we witness firsthand the detrimental impact of prioritizing shareholder value over patient well-being. The most valuable aspect of the book lies in the authors' insightful recommendations for how physicians can effectively navigate these challenging circumstances to ensure high-quality care for their patients.
Overall, this book is a thought-provoking examination of the intersection between medicine and corporate interests, offering both inspiration and practical guidance for healthcare professionals. 4/5 Stars.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Monday, December 16, 2024
Blood Money by Peter Schweizer (2024)
Some of the data and Chinese publications mentioned in this book were new to me, so I did learn a bit about the diplomacy and politics of Sino-US relations. However, the book spends most of the content speculating about motivations and building conspiracy theories around circumstantial evidence. I do not recommend this one. 2/5 Stars.
Labels:
politics
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Deception - The Great Covid Cover-Up by Rand Paul (2023)
The Wuhan Lab's "gain of function," including cover-ups, deception, and the people behind the odd lockdown policies are brightly illuminated in this interesting book. The silly politics are distracting and boring, but the information about the corruption, censorship, and the conflicts of interest within government funding agencies and EcoHealth Alliance are very good. 4/5 Stars.
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier (2020)
This book is much better than I expected. The author is a journalist who does a very good job of presenting the science through the words and interviews with the thought leading scientists themselves. I did not appreciate or enjoy some of the social commentary and politics, but she does present highly relevant and astute observations. 5/5 Stars.
Saturday, July 6, 2024
Lost in Trans Nation by Miriam Grossman (2023)
I recently watched this Free Press interview with Steven Pinker where professor Pinker chats with Michael Moynaham on "why smart people believe in stupid things" such as conspiracy theories. Moynahan grilled Pinker on many current events that evidence backsliding of our western societies away from rationality and enlightenment thinking, including evidence-based science. In this bit of the interview, during their discussion of Jon Haidt's book Pinker acknowledges that the political, economic, and scientific communities are retreating from science.
"The routine pathologizing of ordinary human emotion where every setback is a trauma where every difference is a neuroatypical condition and which Haidt and Greg lukanov have identified as the three great law lies: 1) whatever doesn't kill you makes you weaker 2) always trust your emotions and 3) the world may be divided into good and evil. They argue these lies are the diametric opposite to what cognitive behavior therapy tries to accomplish. And we know this therapy is one of the most successful forms of therapy of all time And the set of three great untruths may have had as much of a role as the like button on Facebook. I would add another thing. I tend to think that the Doom Mongering of mainstream media, which is easier and easier as everyone is an on-the-spot reporter.
Among the anti-science phenomena where activist bullies have destroyed evidence-based studies, enlightenment ideals, rationality, and the progress we had made in mental health treatments is the "trans" movement. This fantastic book by Miriam Grossman is well-researched, well-written, and valuable. The references and depth of her explanations is fantastic. I was crying through two of the chapters as the real traumas were described in excruciating detail. All parents should read this book. 5/5 Stars. Highly recommended.
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